Method of making shoes



Dec. 1, 1942. J. P. FREDERICKSEN METHOD OF MAKING SHOE Filed March 14,1941 v //Vl/E/V 70/1 Patented Dec. 1, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEMETHOD OF MAKING SHOES James P. Fredericksen, Quincy, Mass., assignor toUnited. Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation ofNew Jersey Application May 14, 1941, Serial No. 393,305

Claims.

This invention relates to methods of making shoes and more particularlyto methods of making welt shoes having fabric uppers.

In welt shoes having uppers composed in whole or in part of fabric suchas gabardine or similar material or comprising elastic fabricatedmaterial, the fabric of the upper frequently pulls away from the inseamstitches during the wearing of the shoe because of the fact that afterthe inseam materials have been trimmed only a narrow width or margin ofthe upper fabric is left extending inwardly beyond the inseam stitchesand this narrow margin of fabric material tends to fray and give waywhen the shoe is worn, thereby causing the upper to pull away from theinseam.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an improvedmethod of making welt shoes having fabric uppers in the practice ofwhich the above difiiculty is eliminated.

To this end the invention provides, in accord ance with one aspectthereof, an improved method of making welt shoes having fabric upperswhich consists in securing the marginal portion of a fabric upper inoverlasted relation to an insole and thereafter, but before a welt hasbeen attached to the upper by inseam stitches, impregnating theoverlasted margin of the fabric upper with cement at that portionthereof where the inseam stitches are subthe fabric material at themarginal portion of the fabric upper and to set or harden to bondtogether the individual threads of the fabric so that the material willhave no tendency to fray or ravel after the inseam has been sewn and thematerials at the inseam have been. trimmed. The fabric of the upper willtherefore aflord a much firmer anchorage for the inseam stitches thanordinary fabric material and, accordingly, the upper will not pull awayfrom the inseam stitches during the wearing of the shoe.

With the above and other objects and aspects in view, the invention willnow be described in connection with the accompanying drawing and willthereafter be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a welt shoe in an inverted positionillustrating a step of the present method;

Fig. 2 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary view,

partly in perspective and partly in cross section,

illustrating the shoe in the same condition shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective sectional view, similar to Fig. 2, but showingthe shoe as it appears after the welt has been attached by inseamstitches and the surplus material at the inseam trimmed off.

In carrying out the method of making welt shoes having fabric uppers inaccordance with the present invention, an upper l0, comprising a fabricinner layer or lining l2 and a fabric outer layer 14, is assembled on alast it with an insole l8 and is pulled over in the usual manner.Preferably the usual economy or welt type of insole is provided, theinsole having, as shown, a marginal sewing rib 20 which terminates atthe heel breast line of the insole. The illustrated insole is reinforcedon its outer surface with a layer of canvas 22. The fabric outer layerH! of the upper may be gabardine or other woven or otherwise fabricatedmaterial or it may be a special textile fabric such as Lastex, in whichthe warp consists of elastic threads enabling the upper to stretch asrequired to facilitate the flexing of the foot in walking. The innerlayer l2 may consists of any suitable lining fabric such as canvas orduck.

The fabric upper i0 is worked over the last in the usual manner and itsmarginal portion is secured in overlasted relation to the insole byfastening it to the sewing rib 20 by fastening means such, for example,as staples 24. The upper may be secured in overlasted position at thetoe end of the shoe in any usual or conventional manner, as by cement,and, as shown in Fig. 1, the heel portion of the upper may be lasted inthe usual way by tacks 26 which are clinched against the metal heelplate on the last.

The next operation in making a welt shoe'by the usual method would be toattach the welt to the upper by inseamstitches which pass through theportion of the overlasted margin of the upper which lies adjacent to thebase of the sewing rib and thus secure the welt and upper to the rib. Inaccordance with the present method, however, after the fabric upper It!has been secured in overlasted position to the insole around the entireshoe, as shown in Fig. l, but before a welt has been attached to theupper by inseam stitches, the overlasted margin of the fabric upper isimpregnated with cement, such as pyroxylin or a similar cellulosecement, by applying a -relatively narrow stripe of the cemenu; 28,illustrated in the drawing by stippling,

to that portio no'f the overlasted margin of the upper where the inseamstitches are subsequently to be located. As shown in Fig. 1, the stripeof pyroxylin cement 28 extends from the heel breast line at one side ofthe shoe around the toe portion to the heel breast line at the otherside of the shoe. Widthwise of the shoe, the stripe of pyroxylin cementdoes not extend to the outer edge of the overlasted margin of the upperbut is located a short distance inwardly thereof and the cementpreferably extends inwardly of the said margin a considerable distancebeyond the staples 24. Consequently, the cement will extend over andcover that portion of the upper margin where the inseam stitches are tobe located. The pyroxylin cement may conveniently be applied to thefabric upper by a brush or other suitable implement, or it may, ifdesired, be applied by a suitable machine.

The pyroxylin cement 28 penetrates or strikes into the fabric materialof the outer layer IA of the upper and impregnates said outer layer, asindicated by the stippling in Figs. 2 and 3, and it is allowed to set orharden by evaporation of the solvent to bond together the individualthreads of the fabric material to form a relatively firm or integrallayer of material at that portion of the outer layer where the inseamstitches are subsequently to be located. The fabric material at thisportion is thus prevented from fraying or raveling to cause or permitthe upper to pull away from the inseam stitches during the wearing ofthe shoe.

It will be seen from Figs. 2 and 3 that, in the present case, asuflicient amount of pyroxylin cement has been applied to the outersurface of the fabric outer layer 14 of the upper to penetrate throughthat layer and also to penetrate through the inner layer or lining l2 ofthe upper, thereby bonding together the threads of each of these layersto prevent them from fraying, as explained above, and thus to provide asufficiently firm anchorage for the inseam stitches to prevent the upperfrom pulling away from said stitches during the wearing of the shoe.

A welt 39 is next attached to the shoe in the usual manner by inseamstitches 32, these stitches, as shown in Fig. 3, passing through thestripe of pyroxylin cement 28 which has now penetrated both the outerlayer l4 and the lining l2 of the fabric upper. As is usual in thewelting operation, the welt is stitched as tightly as possible to theshoe bottom so that the inseam stitches 32 normally pass below thestaples 24 to produce a firm and close attachment of the welt to theshoe bottom. The surplus materials which extend above the inseamstitches 32, comprising excess portions of the welt 30, upper I!) andrib 28, are then trimmed off as closely as practicable to the inseam 32in order to provide a relatively flat or even surface on the shoe bottomfor the attachment of the outsole.

It will be seen from Fig. 3, that the trimmin cut passes through thoseportions of the fabric outer layer l4 and lining l2 to which the str peof pyroxylin cement 28 was applied and which were therefore impregnatedwith this cement to bond together the separate or individual threads ofthe fabric materials, as indicated by the stippling in Fig. 3.Accordingly, neither the outer layer M of the fabric upper nor thelining l2 will have any tendency to fray or ravel along the edge thatwas trimmed and consequently the upper will not pull away from theinseam stitches 32 during the wearing of the shoe. In other words, sincethe trimmed marginal portions of the fabric outer layer and fabriclining of the upper have no tendency to fray or ravel, they will afforda sufiiciently firm anchorage for the inseam stitches 32 to maintain thefabric upper in its stitched position permanently or during the life ofthe shoe.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in methods of making welt shoes having fabricuppers, which consists in securing the marginal portion of a fabricupper, including its toe portion, in overlasted relation to an insole ona last by permanent fastening means, thereafter, but before a welt hasbeen attached to the upper by inseam stitches, impregnating the fabricmaterial of the overlasted margin of the upper with pyroxylin cementapplied in a narrow stripe to that portion only of the upper marginwhere the inseam stitches are subsequently to be located, and allowingthe cement to harden to bond the individual threads of the fabricmaterial together at said portion so that it will not fray and cause theupper to pull away from the inseam stitches during the wearing of theshoe.

2. That improvement in methods of making welt shoes the uppers of whichare composed of fabric material, which consists in securing the marginalportion of a fabric upper in overlasted relation to an insole on a lastby attaching the upper to a sewing rib on the insole by permanentfastening means, subsequently, but before a welt has been attached tothe upper by inseam stitches, impregnating the fabric material of theoverlasted margin of the upper with cement applied to the outer surfaceonly of said upper and confined to a narrow stripe located at thatportion of said margin where the inseam stitches are subsequently to belocated but not extending to the outer edge of said overlasted margin,and allowing the cement to set to bond together the individual threadsof the fabric material so that, after the upper and welt have beenattached to the insole by inseam stitches and the surplus materials atthe inseam have been trimmed off, the fabric material will not frayalong the trimmed edge at the inseam and permit the upper to pull awayfrom the inseam stitches during the wearing of the shoe.

3. That improvement in methods of making welt shoes the uppers of whichare composed of fabric material, which consists in working an allfabricupper into overlasted relation to an insole on a last and securing themarginal portion of the upper to a rib on the insole, impregnating theoverlasted margin of the forepart and shank portions of the fabric upperwith pyroxylin cement applied widthwise of said margin in a relativelynarrow stripe located at and adjacent to that portion only of saidmargin where the inseam stitches are subsequently to be located,allowing the cement to harden to bond the individual threads of thefabric material together at said portion and thereby to prevent saidmaterial from fraying or raveling at the cemented portion thereof,attaching the upper and a welt to the insole rib by inseam stitcheswhich pass through the narrow stripe of pyroxylin cement, and trimmingoff the surplus material at the inseam close to said stitches andthrough the cemented portion of the upper so that the fabric materialthereof will not fray along the trimmed margin and pull away from theinseam stitches during the wearing of the shoe.

4. That improvement in methods of making welt shoes the uppers of whichcomprise a fabric outer layer and a fabric lining, which consists insecuring the marginal portion of such a fabric upper, including its toeportion, in overlasted relation to an insole by permanent fasteningmeans, subsequently, but before a welt has been attached to the upper byinseam stitches, impregnating the overlasted margin of the upper aroundthe forepart and shank portions thereof with pyroxylin cement applied ina relatively narrow stripe located widthwise of the upper margin tocover only that portion thereof through which the inseam stitches willpass but not extending to the outer edge of said upper margin, saidcement penetrating the fabric material of both the outer layer and thelining at said portion, and, before applying the welt, allowing thepyroxylin cement to set and harden to bond together the individualthreads of each of the layers of the upper to prevent the fabricmaterial thereof from fraying at said portion, thereby providing asuificiently firm anchorage for the inseam stitches at the forepart andshank portions of the upper to prevent the upper from being pulled awayfrom said stitches at said portions by the flexing of the shoe duringthe wearing thereof.

5. That improvement in methods of making Welt shoes which consists inproviding a shoe upper having a fabric outer layer and a fabric lining,working the fabric upper, including its toe portion, into overlastedposition relatively to an insole on a last and securing the marginalportion of the upper, including the fabric lining, to a sewing rib onthe insole by permanent fastening means, impregnating the overlastedmargin of the fabric outer layer and the fabric lining with pyroxylincement applied to the outer surface of said outer layer in a relativelynarrow stripe located widthwise of said margin at that portion thereofwhere the insteam stitches are to be located, said cement penetratingboth the outer layer and lining of the fabric upper, the impregnatedportion of the upper not extending to the outer edge of said overlastedmargin but extending inwardly beyond said fastening means, allowing thepyroxylin cement to set and harden to bond together the threads of saidfabric layers at said portion to prevent them from fraying, therebyproviding a firm anchorage for the inseam stitches, attaching a welt tothe upper by inseam stitches which pass through the impregnated portionsof the fabric outer layer and lining, and trimming off the surplusmaterials at the inseam as closely as practicable to the inseam stitchesso that the trimming cut will pass through the impregnated portions ofthe fabric outer layer and lining, said impregnated portions providing asufficiently firm and non-raveling anchorage for the inseam stitches toprevent the upper from pulling away from said stitches during thewearing of the shoe.

JAMES P. FREDERICKSEN.

